Jesus Teaches - Matthew 4:12-11:1

Video for the Week of March 20-26
Second Week in Lent



Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions March 20-26

Jesus Teaches (Matthew 4:12 – 11:1)

With a focus on the Sermon on the Mount

1. Jesus goes up on the Mountain to address the people of God, giving them a new law and a new covenant. This echoes Moses on the mountain and coming down the with the Ten Commandments. As you think of the law, commandments and teachings that we hear on a mountain top, which one do you remember the most? Which one strikes a chord in your heart?
2. Matthew wants us to know from his language and the action of this Gospel that Jesus is the one who has come to fulfill the law. How do you see his law being similar and different from the law that came before him?
3. What do these laws have to do with us today? How can they be a part of our everyday lives?

Reflection on the First Week in Lent

Collect for Saturday in the First Week of Lent

O God, by your Word you marvelously carry out the work of reconciliation: Grant that in our Lenten fast we may be devoted to you with all our hearts, and united with one another in prayer and holy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 1:1-4:11

As you look back on the readings and reflections for the week, I wonder what stood out for you? What surprised you? What made you think in a different way?

As I have read through these reflections in conjunction with the scripture, what has come to me each and every day is how alive the scripture is. This is not necessarily surprising, but it has struck a new chord with me this week. Maybe it was the wonderful diversity of the reflections from people all over the Diocese, maybe it was the fact that these voices are giving new light to scripture that we hear often, or maybe it is that we are reading each and every part of Matthew as a story and then pausing to think about what that section or phrase or word means to the scripture and to us a people of God.

Thank you to all of our writers this week. I can't wait to see what next week brings us.

Don't forget that you can comment either here on the Blog or on the Facebook updates at the Diocese of Milwaukee Facbook page at http://www.facebook.com/DioceseOfMilwaukee.

Peace and blessings to you all as we continue this journey together.
The Rev. Shannon Kelly
Bishop's Assistant for Christian Formation

Temptation of Jesus

Collect for Friday in the First Week of Lent
Lord Christ, our eternal Redeemer, grant us such fellowship in your sufferings, that filled with your Holy Spirit, we may subdue the flesh to the spirit, and the spirit to you, and at the last attain to the glory of your resurrection; who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Temptation of Jesus
Reflection on Matthew 4:1-11


Jesus comes up from the muddy water of the Jordan River, the Spirit of God alights upon him like a dove, and a voice from heaven proclaims him God’s Son, the Beloved, with whom God is well pleased. But before Jesus can begin his public ministry he is led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.


Jesus came to reconcile all people to God, to turn us back to the God who loves us unconditionally, and to help us to return that love in joy and thanksgiving. Jesus goes into the wilderness and the Devil offers him three means by which he might accomplish his mission.


Turn these stones into bread and buy their loyalty. They will follow you wherever you go if you will just fill their bellies.


Throw yourself off of the temple and make their loyalty a matter of proof, of science. When the angels bear you up everyone will know that it would be foolish not to follow you.


Force your will upon them. I will give them into your hands. Surely you would be a benevolent dictator and everything that you do would be for their good. Take this power and make them follow you.


The temptation that Jesus faces is the temptation to coercion. Buy their allegiance, make it a matter of science and fact, or force them to follow. The problem with these three options is that what Jesus wants, what God wants from us is love and coercion never leads to love. “If you can’t say ‘no’ it isn’t love.”


So Jesus chooses another path. Jesus reveals God’s true nature and draws us into loving by giving himself to us, by refusing to abandon us no matter how we treat him, by loving us even when we do not love in return.


Coercion never leads to love. Love cannot be bought, proven, or forced. Love does not come through guilt, shame, or manipulation. Jesus understands that true love only happens when we are willing to make ourselves vulnerable, giving up control of the outcome, and love one another as God loves us. Jesus rejects the temptation to coercion so the Devil leaves him and the angels come and wait on him.


The Rev. Andrew Jones
Rector
St. Andrew’s Church, Madison

Who Am I?

Collect for Thursday in the First Week of Lent
Strengthen us, O Lord, by your grace, that in your might we may overcome all spiritual enemies, and with pure hearts serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


“Who am I?”
Reflection on Matthew 3:13-17

In this passage, we catch up with Jesus for the first time since he was 12 years old. We know that he grew in height and wisdom, and was loved by God and all who knew him (Luke 2:52), but other than that, we’ve pretty much been left in the dark. 18 years have passed… Jesus is now about 30, and we find him at the Jordan River. His 80-mile journey from Galilee (probably Nazareth, his home town) to the place where John was baptizing (probably somewhere near Bethany or Jericho) would have taken at least 4 days to cover on foot.

John is bewildered when Jesus asks to be baptized. He recognizes Jesus’ superiority, and in an act of humility is asking, “Who am I to baptize the Son of God?” But we know John was commissioned to “prepare the way for the Lord” (Luke 1:76). So, in obedience to God’s will, John baptizes Jesus. And, in obedience to God’s will, Jesus humbles himself to be baptized. Next, something incredible happens: John finds himself in the real presence of the Holy Trinity! The Son stands before him, the Spirit descends from the heavens, and the Father’s voice comes from the clouds. I like to imagine what this would have looked like- the sky parting, heavenly light pouring down…. The proud voice of Abba, pleased with His Son. I imagine everyone stopping in their tracks, gawking at the awesome beauty that is the presence of God. The Father is presenting Jesus as His Son, and he’s doing it with honor, and glory, and love (Matthew 3:17). Moments later, John presents Jesus to the people as God’s Son, and he does it with humility and praise (John 1:29-31)

Our story is not so different. Don’t we have our own commissioning, like John? Aren’t we called to be (and make) disciples? God wants us to present his Son, too. Though we are not fit to carry his sandals, we are commanded to prepare the way for the Lord. He wants us to give Jesus honor, glory, and praise. He wants us to serve others with love and humility. We may ask, “Who am I?” but the fact is that God already knows us perfectly! Now let us serve Him in obedience, so that he may be well pleased!

Samantha Jablonski
Zion Episcopal Church – Oconomowoc

Voice in the Wilderness

Collect for Wednesday in the First Week of Lent

Bless us, O God, in this holy season, in which our hearts seek your help and healing; and so purify us by your discipline that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


Voice in the Wilderness
Reflection on Matthew 3:1-12

I am a singer who has performed George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah many, many times over the past 30 or so years. The first time I did it was in high school as a freshman. As a relative novice to performing in a choral ensemble, I was more concerned back then with trying to figure out how to read music and to sing well, not considering at the time the meaning of the words I was singing. By the time I got to concert week, that was when I started to gain an appreciation of the words (which were all from Scripture). The tenor, in his opening recitative, sang the words of Isaiah: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” When I heard Isaiah’s words in the setting of that glorious music, the meaning of that passage became crystal clear. That proclamation would change the course of history, and there was no turning back to the past.

John the Baptist was that “voice in the wilderness”. He prepared the way for Jesus.

I can only imagine what John’s emotions were as he performed baptisms along the banks of the river Jordan. He knew the coming of the Messiah was very, very near. He knew the prophecy that Isaiah made many years before and was not afraid to boldly proclaim it, even in front of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And he also knew that we as sinners need to repent of our sins so that we can be ready for the One who makes all things new.

John the Baptist and the musical Godspell have a connection…preaching repentance. I am reminded of some lyrics that came to me from Godspell: “Turn back, o man, forswear thy foolish ways.” That’s a worthy goal to strive for this Lenten season.

Steve Murphy
St. Boniface, Mequon, WI

The Promise Survives

Collect for Tuesday in the First Week of Lent

Grant to your people, Lord, grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only True God; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.




The Promise Survives

Reflection on Matthew 2:13-23

Matthew 2:13-23 builds upon the narrative found in the previous chapter. In this passage, Joseph is communicated with, via a dream and the angel of the Lord, and told to do something he might otherwise not do. He is asked to do something extraordinary in an extraordinary manner, and he doesn’t back down from the challenge. We never hear a verbal response from Joseph to these supernatural requests. We only get his response in action. Yet, his action is critical. The survival of God’s promise depends upon it.

If a story about a character named Joseph whose life is changed because of dreams seems familiar, there is a very good reason. Just the way that Melville wants you to know something about Captain Ahab just from his name, the gospel writer leverages associations with an ancient and earlier Joseph (Genesis 37-50) — a Joseph that also provided a means of survival for God’s promise. But this association is only one of many collective memories conjured by this passage. Egypt is the place Joseph brings his family to survive a famine, but it is also the place that the ancient Hebrews will emerge from the Pharaoh’s rule by signs and wonders.

As in those Old Testament narratives, the gospel writer tells us of a clear danger to the persistence of God’s promise. We learn of Herod’s rage and paranoia as he attempts to snuff out any perceived threat to his throne. Evil is present in this story, and it is no small theological feat to explain why such a horrific act takes place in a story about one named “God with us,” other than to say in the midst of great evil and the possible extinction of God’s promise, a faithful person acts and the promise survives.

This is the elemental plot that flows through those Hebrew tales: God has promised to bless all people. In the face of certain extinction of this promise, God finds a way to fulfill the promise. In this plot, a key element is the faithful person without whom the plan would fail. In this gospel story, Joseph is that faithful person. He believes in the promise, and acts on it. In this way, he foreshadows the faithfulness of Jesus, who will ultimately be faced with the final threat to God’s promise and will be asked to do the unthinkable. He will be asked to die.

 The Rev. Don Fleischman
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church
Richland Center, WI

It's About Faith

The Collect for Monday in the First Week of Lent

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully increase in us your gifts of holy discipline, in almsgiving, prayer and fasting; that our lives may be directed to the fulfilling of your most gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.


It’s All About Faith
Reflection on Matthew 1:18-2:12
Joseph and the aristocratic scholars from the East were individuals who paid attention and who were risk takers. To me paying attention means close listening. The prologue of St. Benedict’s Rule, a book of instructions written for monks and abbots living in community, speaks of “listening with the ear of your heart”. Listening is an attitude of openness and vulnerability. In our spiritual journey, it is being open to hearing the voice of the Spirit and being vulnerable to hearing something other than we expect to hear and then doing it.

Joseph was “a righteous man” who learning of Mary’s pregnancy “planned to dismiss her quietly.” But Joseph had a dream. “When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” One website said that Joseph was noted “for his willingness to immediately get up and do what God told him.” He answered with action. Risking the judgment of the Jewish law, he took Mary as his wife, offering her love and lineage. When the Child was born, he named him Jesus, surrendering his right to choose the name for his child. Joseph listened and entered into the mystery of Christ.

The scholars from the East, known as the three wisemen, also embarked on a risky journey attending the events of the night sky and learning from the special revelations of God’s words to them. Unlike Herod who feared the risk to his power, the wise men willing took risks to follow God and gain wisdom. They found the Child “who was to be born King of the Jews,” were caught up in the presence of God and paid Him homage. Then, warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they listened and again took action as they went home another way.

Our spiritual journey is about learning to listen and taking risks as well as action. As with Joseph and the wise men, keen listening will take us to some surprising places into and beyond the mystery of Christ.

The Rev. Margaret M. Kiss
Deacon
Cathedral of All Saints

What Does Matthew's Genealogy Tell Us?

The Collect for the First Sunday in Lent

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.


What does Matthew’s genealogy tell us?
Reflection on Matthew 1:1-17
My brother has recently gotten into genealogy, pouring through old census records, old state and county documents, through various resources scanned and available online. When he first told me about his new hobby, I gave him a word of caution – be careful. Looking into one’s ancestors may turn up some things that are scandalous. You may found out things you didn’t know before. You may be surprised by some things that you find.

It’s no different with Matthew’s foray into the genealogy of Jesus. The Hebrew Scriptures have a number of genealogies, most notably in Genesis, but also in the historical books. Two of the gospel writers – Matthew and Luke -- make an effort to trace Jesus’ lineage, and, in yet another blow to biblical literalists, they do not agree.

What does Matthew’s genealogy tell us? Lots of things, really, in these seventeen verses, but there are a couple of elements which seem particularly relevant during this Lenten seasons.

One is that God is doing something unusual. Matthew’s genealogy breaks from convention and on four occasions traces Jesus’ descent through women. And not just any women: Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Tamar. All had a whiff of scandal about them, but all had something in common: each was an instrument of God in the life of the Jewish people. Matthew’s inclusion of them here signals that God is again going to do something significant through the fifth woman mentioned – Mary.

Matthew traces Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham; this is different from Luke, who traces it all the way back to Adam. There are several reasons why Matthew does this, mainly as part of his efforts to place Jesus in his Jewish context. But one which strikes me this Lenten season is to look at the parallels between the first man in this lineage, Abraham, and the last one, Joseph. Both were ordinary men, living ordinary lives, when out of nowhere God asked them to do something. For Abraham, to leave his homeland and go where God was calling him. For Joseph, to trust in the God who told him to marry his betrothed who was already with child. The link is made stronger with Matthew’s description of Joseph as “righteous” (v. 19) the same word frequently used to describe Abraham. Not righteous in the sense of being correct, but rather in its most literal sense: someone who is right with God, and who is right with God because they were willing to listen and to do what God might be asking.

Looking back on Jesus’ genealogy, maybe we don’t always need to have the kind of concern that I expressed to my brother. We can also learn things which are insightful and positive. This Lenten season may we see in Jesus’ genealogy a God who is doing something new in Jesus Christ, and may we, like Joseph, be willing to listen to how God might be calling us.

The Rev. Thomas Ferguson, PhD
Chaplain
St Francis House, Madison

Gospel of Matthew 1:1-4:11

Video for the week of March 13-19

 


Discussion Questions (Click for a pdf of the Discussion Questions)
Jesus Presented (Matthew 1:1-4:11)

1. Genealogy – Matthew begins his Gospel by telling tracing Jesus’ lineage for us, letting us know that he is descended from Abraham. He is opening with a retelling of where Matthew came from in order to tell us where he is going. As you think of your own genealogy, what does it say about your family, about your lineage, about who you are as a child of God? What does Jesus’ lineage tell us about who he is.
2. “All this took place to fulfill” – this is a classic phrase used by the writer of the Gospel of Matthew as he points out the variety of ways that Jesus is fulfilling the prophecies. Why do you think this is important? What do you think this tells us about Matthew’s view of Jesus’ place in the world?
3. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.” How did John the Baptist prepare for the way of the Lord? How do we continue to prepare for him today?
4. As we hear of Jesus’ temptation, his fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, what do you think would have been his greatest temptation? What would be your greatest temptation? Hunger? Testing God? Power? Worshipping evil?